Why Create Personal Media
What compels someone to blog daily? Why should one pick up a microphone and record themselves or others for hours at a time? Who are these people who turn their cameras backwards and film themselves? And why should YOU create personal media? Understanding that the readers of [chrisbrogan.com] are mostly already in this camp, maybe I’m just reinforcing the point. But then again, perhaps you know someone who’s questioning why they should bother creating media in some form or another, and maybe this will help them understand better what they can accomplish.
Tell a Story
Want basics? The beauty of this day and age is that we are all EQUIPPED to publish media in any format we can imagine. We can tell the simplest stories, from our personal lives to what we see around us, to what matters to us in the world. Having these tools, we are now able to talk about what matters to us, instead of consuming what companies believe might interest the lowest common denominator in our midst.
Because It Gets Consumed
We not only publish our work, but we now distribute it easily. Our words, pictures, audio, and movies don’t stick to one website down a quiet dirt road in the corners of the Internet any longer. You can put your media right where you want it, and better still, your audience can find it.
Personal Media Conveys Your Message
Instead of an advertisement, people can interact with the story of YOU. If you’re a business, this is stronger than a marketing campaign and a tagline: it’s a direct relationship with the creators of the product or service. If you’re someone who seeks to build an audience around what you’re doing, this is your platform. Whatever message or story you want to tell, you now have the tools to make it happen.
You Can Reach the Deep Niches
You might have a very singular interest in the world. Before, these fringe cultures weren’t easy to reach. Today? There is definitely someone out there into the crazy weird unique thing you’re passionate about. If you’re into underwater knitting, someone out there is making a photoblog about it, I’m sure. And if not, start. Your fellow underwater knitters will rush to join the site.
It Answers A Basic Human Need
Communicating through these digital platforms, creating personal media of whatever variety, gives you the opportunity to connect with others and be seen (understood / recognized for what you are / accepted). There are other needs that come first (food, safety, shelter, etc), but this is still a very basic, human need. And through creating media, participating with others in their creations, and sharing stories back and forth, you fulfill some version of this need.
Create: It Makes a Difference
The saddest thing people tell me in any given day is that they don’t blog (podcast/photoblog/videoblog/whatever) because they figure no one cares about what they have to say. While it’s true that learning how to connect using these digital methods isn’t always easy, it’s less true that someone doesn’t care what you have to say. Create something. Share. Participate with others telling their stories on these tools. And if you have questions, or want help or advice, reach out to me, or the people who participate actively in this blog. We’ll help you.
Share this with a friend. If you have a coworker or friend who hasn’t yet taken the plunge, consider sending them this post as something to think about. And if you want more, please consider subscribing for free to my blog. And thanks!
Photo credit, JeffPulver
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Comments
Once upon a time, years ago, when I occasionally shaved my head to help force my clients to think outside their corporate image, a very conservative client asked me point blank “why do you shave your head?”
I said, “because I’m a Head Shaver! — and it works.”
Why do I blog? Because I’m a blogger, and it works. It helps me reach my goals — certainly BOTH business AND personal.
Nice picture. It would have been easier for you to include the photo in this post if flickr provided HTML for you to copy and paste, huh?
I just blogged about flickr’s lack of accessible HTML yesterday.
I’ve talked to people at flickr about this, and they acknowledge it as a new feature request.
Zoomer has it. Flickr should too.
Hi, I ran across your article in lifehack on ‘BE and wireless hotspot’ and thought you might be interested in this if you haven’t seen it yet.
Its a comment I left on the article before I realized it was from 06′:
Umm…has anyone looked at this? http://www.cradlepoint.com
That KR1 is too big to put in your pocket but works in a car. This buggar, however, is teeny (the CTR). I’ve used it with a Verizon modem/dongle. It rocks. Wireless network where ever you get a cell signal.
I would like to add that you should probably create personal media for even a small audience. I have seen blogs by people who simply want a way to let their family know what they are doing. If you are away at college, you can blog to your parents and friends from back home. You may want to share photos and video of the new baby with your extended family.
Your content can even be a directed to yourself as an audience. What you create can even be a scrapbook of your memories of great people you’ve encountered and great times you’ve had. You don’t realize how many lives you touch simply because the personal media isn’t there.
One final thought is that you should try to create personal media because it is increasingly important to learn how to produce media, in general, in the way that learning how to type and how to use a computer is. Even if you don’t work in New Media, learning how to create personal media is an asset. If that doesn’t sell you on it, then keep in mind that the biggest asset is that you will have learned how to tell your story.
great post chris. I explain to people all the time why I blog and videoblog. So many people (in AZ) have no idea of the online world and what it can do for them.
I have gotten such tremendous joy from the communications and relationships I build through my blog and other online platforms. It’s truly a two-way street (just watch out for the deer in the road - LOL)
Seriously, I write at my blog because I love writing, and it is a great way to sell books, but having someone respond, “That made me laugh” is what makes it so special. The author who doesn’t blog can only guess whether or not their audience is enjoying their work. Sales figures alone don’t tell the whole story…a customer might buy a book and not like it - a sale is just a number. It’s linear. A comment is that reader, taking the time to communicate back to me. It completes the circle.
Great article - thanks for sharing!